Volume V: Showing Initial Promise Chapter 26: A Girl Driving Me to Despair

It happened so fast that before Boss Li could fully process it, the once aloof saintess of the Jade Rabbit clan had already become his demon slave.

And what's more, she was a breathtakingly gorgeous demon slave. Damn it, he must have stepped on some golden dog droppings when he went out today, to have such incredible luck.

Li Chengzhu and Yuan Mu followed Shui Ruyan all the way. Along the path, the members of the Jade Rabbit clan lowered their heads and stepped aside, greatly feeding the two men's vanity. Boss Li glanced back at Yuan Mu, locking eyes with that scoundrel's leering grin, and simply lifted the corner of his mouth in response.

However, the looks that the Jade Rabbit clan members cast at Shui Ruyan were quite different, filled with disdain and hatred, leaving the two men utterly baffled.

After getting Yuan Mu settled, Shui Ruyan led Li Chengzhu through several winding turns into a cavern. As soon as they stepped inside, a refreshing fragrance washed over them. Looking at the interior decoration, although it was merely carved out of a mountain cave, it was elegant and exquisite, with an indescribable charm lingering in the air, simple yet impeccably neat.

"This is..." Li Chengzhu looked around, taking in the single wooden bed and chair placed inside the cave.

"This is my room." Shui Ruyan lowered her head. Under the glow of the luminescence stone, her little face blushed deeply, looking extremely much like a ripened apple. Her voice was soft and indescribably pleasant.

"Oh." Boss Li smiled faintly, shifted his weight, and plopped down right onto the maiden's bed. Shui Ruyan opened her mouth, unable to say anything, and merely let out a soft sigh.

"You sit down too." After examining the room for a while and seeing Shui Ruyan standing there looking all pretty and dainty, Li Chengzhu couldn't help but speak up.

"Ruyan wouldn't dare. In front of my master, Ruyan can only stand," Shui Ruyan replied softly.

A wave of discomfort washed over Li Chengzhu. Even though the other party was a demon spirit, and one that had taken human form at that, calling him master felt thoroughly unnatural. Even with Little Thing, he had never treated it like a pet.

"Well, don't call me master from now on. And I told you to sit, so sit." The clan rules of the demon spirit race were truly bizarre; they rivaled those of medieval slave owners.

"Ruyan wouldn't dare," Shui Ruyan insisted stubbornly.

"Damn it." Li Chengzhu looked at the girl in frustration, wondering if she was simply too used to being abused. She had been kneeling in the great hall earlier, impossible to pull up, and now she wouldn't even sit when told to.

Li Chengzhu let out a cold snort, stood up, and slowly closed in on the little woman.

Startled, Shui Ruyan backed away step by step in terror. Her heart began to pound wildly, and her small hands instinctively covered her neckline in a desperate bid to find a shred of safety. Raising her eyelids slightly, she saw her master wearing a wicked smirk on his lips, causing her frail little heart to suffer even more. She thought to herself how harsh and cruel the world truly was.

He backed Shui Ruyan all the way against the cave wall, leaving her with nowhere to run, before Boss Li flashed a wicked grin and reached out his hand.

"No!" Anticipating her fate, Shui Ruyan parted her lips slightly, putting up a feeble resistance.

Blood surged through Boss Li's veins in a frenzy. Girl, even if a man had no desires, you'd provoke them out of him. Didn't you know that such a weak, pleading cry was even more effective at unleashing a man's wild instincts?

His large hand came to rest on Shui Ruyan's slender shoulders. Feeling the faint trembling and fear emanating from her, Li Chengzhu forced down his internal desires, put on a deliberately evil expression, and gently lifted her chin with one finger.

Shui Ruyan closed her eyes tightly. Feeling the warmth from her chin and the scent of the man right before her, a flurry of panic overwhelmed her heart. Recalling that momentary flutter deep within her soul, her body grew weak, and she almost collapsed into the man's embrace.

With a flick of his sleeve, Li Chengzhu shut the heavy door with a bang, wrapping both arms around Shui Ruyan's boneless, delicate frame.

***

Shui Ruyan was now breathing heavily. As the saintess, the males of her clan would always go out of their way to avoid her; when had she ever been in such close contact with a man? If the embrace in the wilderness could be called a breakthrough, then this enchanting scene completely washed away the last vestiges of her internal resistance.

So be it. She was no longer the saintess; she had been demoted to a demon slave and was no longer a member of the Jade Rabbit clan. Though she wasn't quite sure what kind of person this master of hers truly was, he was still far better than falling into the hands of the two elders, Zhou and Li. Besides, he had saved her life more than once.

Releasing the burden in her heart, Shui Ruyan gently opened her eyes. The trembling of her body gradually subsided. She cast a shy glance at the man before her, only to see him wearing a wicked, utterly wretched and sleazy grin, yet his eyes were bright and clear. With his distinct, chiseled features, his jawline still retained a hint of boyish immaturity.

Just how old was this man? Shui Ruyan wondered to herself.

Boss Li was feeling equally conflicted inside. This girl was blatantly tempting him. To hit or not to hit, that was the question.

"Be... gentle," Shui Ruyan murmured softly, then quickly lowered her head, her little fingers nervously twisting and tying knots in the corner of her clothes.

Boss Li let out a muffled groan and quickly clamped a hand over his nose. The restless fire within him flared up even more, and stimulated by those words, even his lower self was instantly ignited.

Flashes raced through Li Chengzhu's mind: Little Shadow poking his backside with a flying sword, Gu Linglong glaring at him with gnashed teeth while holding a child, Qiao Yanluo's giant hand descending from the heavens, and his beautiful martial aunt glaring at him hatefully: "I am so disappointed in you."

Damn it, what on earth did his beautiful martial aunt have to do with any of this?

Li Chengzhu chanted silently in his heart: Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.

What the hell, he really wanted to be "empty" right now.

He bit down hard on his tongue to drive the stray thoughts from his mind, finally feeling a little better. With a surge of strength in his arms, he lifted Shui Ruyan's petite body and strode toward the bed.

A moment later, Shui Ruyan felt softness beneath her, and the hands supporting her shoulders pulled away. Opening her eyes slightly, she found her master sitting comfortably in the chair, smiling as he watched her. Her face turned red, tinged with a trace of disappointment.

"I told you to sit, so sit. No need to be so overly polite with me in the future. If you're too embarrassed, I'll take the chair instead." A radiant aura of purity beamed from Li Chengzhu's face.

"Okay," Shui Ruyan nodded gently, a wave of joy welling up in her heart. It seemed this master wasn't nearly as sleazy as he looked on the outside. Since he was so considerate, she might suffer a lot less hardship in the future.

"And don't call me master anymore; it sounds too awkward." Li Chengzhu voiced the thought in his mind. It really was strange—having a delicate little beauty call you master was simply unjust to the heavens.

"Then what should I call you?" Seeing that Li Chengzhu was so easygoing, Shui Ruyan grew a bit bolder.

"Call me husband." Boss Li rolled his eyes, attempting to take verbal advantage of her.

The face that had just regained its calm flushed red once more. Shui Ruyan spat out a soft exclamation and lowered her head again.

"Ah, haha. Just kidding." Boss Li's skin wasn't nearly as thin as this little woman's. At the same time, he wondered how she even knew what that word meant; he had originally assumed demon spirits wouldn't understand such terms.

"Call me hubby instead," Li Chengzhu grinned. You guys definitely don't know this word, do you?

***

"Hubby?" Shui Ruyan asked with slight confusion, her innocent face adopting a look of eager curiosity that was truly... utterly alluring.

"Yeah." Li Chengzhu quickly averted his gaze. If he kept staring at her like this, a lone man and woman trapped together in a single room, the situation was simply asking for trouble.

"What does hubby mean?"

"Hubby means... uh, it means the person in charge. I'm the person in charge of you, so you call me hubby." Li Chengzhu spouted utter nonsense.

Shui Ruyan nodded. "Oh, so that's what it means. I understand now, hubby."

Looking at that happily smiling face, a warm glow filled Boss Li's heart. This girl was truly innocent; if he sold her off, she'd probably happily count the money for him.

"Hubby, I don't have any welcome gifts to give you." Li Chengzhu rummaged left and right through his storage ring, pulling out a flying sword and a few top-grade stones. "Just take these."

"Sacred stones?" Shui Ruyan stared at him in shock. "So many sacred stones?"

Sacred stones? Why did the Jade Rabbit clan put the word "sacred" in front of everything? Was it some kind of game?

Yet this girl truly had no eye for treasure. How could the value of a top-grade flying sword be matched by a few top-grade stones? Why was she only interested in things she recognized?

"Are these things for me?" Shui Ruyan muttered, looking at Li Chengzhu in disbelief, her small hand reaching out hesitantly as if she wanted to take them but didn't dare.

"Yeah."

Shui Ruyan hesitated several times before finally making up her mind. "Ruyan wouldn't dare accept them."

"If I give them to you, just take them. What's there not to dare?" Li Chengzhu truly didn't know what to do with this young woman. Who on earth refuses gifts from others? If it were him, he would have snatched them directly and rummaged through the other person's ring to see if there were any other goodies.

"Master... hubby, it'll be enough if you treat me well from now on. I can't possibly accept these things." A misty veil clouded Shui Ruyan's large eyes once more.

There's no saving her, Li Chengzhu sighed inwardly. He grabbed Shui Ruyan's small hand and shoved the top-grade stones and the flying sword right into her palm. "I'm your master, right? And you said you must listen to what the Holy Mother Granny told you earlier, right?"

Shui Ruyan didn't know whether to extend her hand or pull it back, so she simply nodded her little head.

"Then I'm telling you to accept these items," Boss Li said firmly. Damn it, strange things happen every year, but this year was exceptional—he actually had to force someone to take a gift.

"Thank you, mas... hubby!" Shui Ruyan's voice trembled as a tear fell onto Li Chengzhu's large hand, the warmth of it sending a pang through his heart.

Sigh, this girl, she weeps just from being given a few gifts. If he gave her anything more, wouldn't she offer her body in return? Li Chengzhu let out a soft sigh inwardly. The saintess of the Jade Rabbit clan certainly didn't lead an easy life.